Moving Forward
by the-salt-monster
Summary: Regulus and Noelle are now in their fifth year at Hogwarts and their romance is just taking off. But will tempers flare and trust be betrayed when Regulus has to decide where his loyalties lie? Sequel to "Until the End of Time."
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1

It was the end of the second week of summer holiday and I hadn't heard from Noelle. I figured she didn't want to seem desperate for my conversation, but I did miss talking to someone—anyone. I even missed fighting with Sirius.

Sirius had run away the third day of the holiday. He left no note, no sign he had left except for an unnaturally tidy bedroom. I had been the first to notice Sirius was missing when I went looking for one of my Herbology textbooks in his room early one morning.

I lay on my bed, my mind almost too exhausted to stay awake, but too active to fall asleep. Sirius left me… he _forgot_ about me…he didn't care. I leaned over my bed and picked up the damned Herbology book and threw it at the wall, wishing I had never found it in his room.

It hit the wall with loud thud and slid down, a scrap of parchment fluttering out. My heart skipped a beat. I ran to the book, reaching out my hand cautiously, trying not to get my hopes up. I picked up the scrap of parchment and turned it over, only to find Noelle's handwriting, giving her address.

I swore loudly and kicked the wall. "I don't care!" I bellowed at her note. "I don't care about you! I don't care about your stupid address; I care about my brother!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, my Herbology textbook exploding from my lack of control. I punched the wall with my fists until they were bleeding and then took to kicking it. I stopped when I heard something snap and felt a sharp pain up and down my foot.

I fell to the floor, angry tears pouring down my face. My brother knew what was going to happen to me this summer. He knew what Mother and Father were making me do. He knew, but he didn't care enough about me to take me with him. I wiped away my tears with the back of my hand, replacing it with blood.

The adrenalin flowing through my veins wore off and my foot and fists started to throb painfully. I got up slowly, using the wall to steady myself and stumbled out of my bedroom, fell noisily down the many steps, and passed out.

The next thing I knew, I was in St. Mungo's. There were a few bandages around my knuckles and my foot felt as if it fell asleep, but I was otherwise fine. I sat up and looked around me. It was a white room with one picture with a beach scene. The table beside me had nothing on it except a glass of water and two letters on it.

I opened the first one.

_Dear Regulus, _it read.

_I hope your summer has been going well so far. My parents and I took a trip to Germany! It was very exciting and I learned loads about the magical population there. Did you know that they receive their mail like muggles? They don't even use owls! _

_Please write back soon!  
_

_Sincerely, _

_Noelle Keller_

I opened the other letter without much thought.

_Oh no! We're coming to see him! I do hope he's alright._

_~N. Keller_

The fist letter must've arrived while I was in St. Mungo's. I figured a nurse had replied to the letter, telling her I was here, though, I wasn't sure how Mother and Father would react.

I looked around again. There was no sign of either of my parents. A nurse walked in to check on a sleeping patient beside me who's head was wrapped in bandages.

"Excuse me!" I called over to her. She looked up at me. "I was wondering if you've seen my parents anywhere…"

"Oh, no," she said, fluffing the pillow magically for the patient. "A house elf brought you in and then left. Would you like us to contact them, though?"

"No, no," I said hurriedly. "I'm fine, thanks."

No sooner had she left when the doors burst open and Noelle Keller ran to my bed, hugging me tightly and talking very fast.

"Ohmigosh, are you alight? I knew I should've written you sooner! What happened? Are you going to be okay? What did you do?" She gave me a worried look as her parents just stood in the background.

"I'm fine," I told her. "I just…got a little frustrated. My brother ran away and, well, I haven't exactly been taking it well. My Herbology textbook got the worst of it, though." She looked relieved and pulled up a chair to sit as close as she could to me.

"What time is it?" I asked her. Her mother glanced at her watch.

"It's around one in the morning," she told me and stepped forward. "I'm Angeline Keller," she said, holding out her hand to me. I took it very lightly, as my bandages were still on. "This is my husband, Joel." Noelle's father nodded at me, not exactly frowning, but not smiling either.

"We'll be getting some tea," he told Noelle and her parents left the room.

Slowly and cautiously, as if nervous, Noelle reached out her hand to my side and gently took my hand in hers. I glanced at her and saw that she had turned a very deep shade of red and kept her eyes on her shoes.

"You must be tired," I said to beak the silence. She nodded but kept her eyes down. I pulled my hand out of hers and instead put my arm around her shoulders which were conveniently right next to mine.

Her head bobbed every now and then from trying to remain awake and, finally, I pushed the railing on the bed down and invited her to lay her head in my lap. She did so and almost immediately fell asleep.

I looked down at her calm face, stroking her hair idly. I couldn't believe that just a few hours ago I was screaming that I didn't care about her. I guessed I was too high on painkillers to see sense, but something in the back of my mind said that maybe—just possibly—I was _moving forward_.

**Author's note: Yay! New story new story! Anyways, I'm excited! **_**Moving Forward**_** is going to have a lot more dark romance, which is the best kind, right? There's a lot more Sirius only because I still think he's awesome (If you thought I hated Sirius, you can take a look at my story **_**Chaos, Friends, and Hogwarts: The Marauder Tales**_** and see for yourself!).**

**I know this is a long Author's Note, but I just want to say how happy I am that I'm continuing this story. The first couple of chapters are mainly fluff, but the story will get going soon! **

**Review please! **

**~Salty**


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

When I woke, I kept my eyes shut tightly. I could feel Noelle's head still in my lap and I instinctively stroked her soft hair, myself still half asleep. I opened my eyes a little trying to see if Noelle's parents had come back from getting tea. I found them standing in the doorframe talking quietly with a couple that looked a lot like…_my parents_!

I came to my senses with a jolt, causing Noelle to wake. She lifted her head and gave me a dark glare before realizing where she was sleeping. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth as if to apologize, but I shook my head as Mother and Father came to my bedside.

"Well, Regulus," my mother said sharply, raising her eyebrows at Noelle who looked as if she'd like nothing more than to crawl in a hole and never come out. "It seems as if Mr. and Mrs. Keller have invited you to spend the rest of the summer with them. We have agreed to let you stay and Kreature will be coming with your trunk very soon. We will see you over Christmas." They left me staring after them, my jaw hanging slack. Noelle looked equally surprised, but turned to me with a smile on her face.

"You're coming for the summer!" she cried happily nearly jumping out of her chair from excitement. Her parents walked back into the room and Noelle attacked them both with a hug. "Thank you, Mum! Thank you, Daddy!" Her mother and father smiled down at her and then turned to me.

"Your parents didn't seem concerned about your…ehm, 'accident.' We offered to let you stay the summer so that we could make sure you wouldn't end up here again," she explained to me.

"Took us awhile to persuade them, though," her father said with a slight smile.

"Sorry about that," I muttered, sitting up. "Thank you both for inviting me to stay."

"Well, you seem to be a very close friend of Noelle's, so how could we not?" Mrs. Keller looked down at Noelle who was red once again and muttered something about being tired.

With a loud crack, Kreature appeared with my trunk. He bowed low to me and left with another crack. I got out of the bed and limped over to the trunk, my foot still a bit tender. I rummaged through my things and found a change of clothes, as I was wearing the pajamas St. Mungo's had given me. Mrs. Keller closed the curtains around my bed for me and I dressed quickly. When I stepped out again, The Kellers were waiting for me at the door.

I walked next to Noelle as we made our way to the main desk to check me out. Every now and then, our hands would brush together and we would glance up at each other before turning away. Having enough of the awkward silences and embarrassed looks, I threw one of my arms over her shoulder, the other dragging my trunk.

Noelle looked over her shoulder to see her parents' reaction, but leaned into me slightly as they pretended not to notice. We struck up a funny conversation about why my Herbology textbook only got what was coming to it, and by the time we finally came to the front desk, were already flirting like we had the year before, calling each other "Mr. Black" and "Miss Keller."

After checking out, we walked out the door and found ourselves in a back alley of London, the ugly mannequin in the window right behind us. We walked a little ways to the right of the window before stopping.

"Side-along apparition," Mrs. Keller told Noelle and me. "Noelle, you'll come with me and Regulus, you'll go with Joel." I gripped Mr. Keller's arm tightly and felt the squeezing sensation of apparition before landing on soft ground.

We were about a hundred yards from a large house. There were many hills and I could just barely see a lake glittering in the early morning sun from behind the house. I saw Noelle and her mother appear right at the doorstep and made to go forward, but Mr. Keller held my arm, turning me around to face him.

"I want you to listen," he said sternly. "My daughter isn't something you can use once and throw away. She has feelings, and if you don't respect her, you'll have me to answer to. Do you understand me?" I gulped and nodded.

"Yes, yes, I do," I choked. Mr. Keller gave me a genuine smile for the first time and clapped me on the shoulder, turning me around and letting me walk up to the house. I opened the door and stepped inside.

It was very different from my house. The walls were painted a light blue and there were many windows letting in as much natural light as possible. Noelle was curled up on the sofa in the living room, and I went to her, sitting beside her.

She didn't look at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked her. She shook her head. "Noelle…"

"What happened last night?" she asked. "Why did you let me sleep in your lap? I thought you hated me. I thought that you were mad at me for when… I thought you'd yell at me when you saw me." I didn't answer for a while.

"I…I just figured that anyone who thought I was worth coming to see wasn't someone I should remain mad at," I muttered. It wasn't exactly truthful, but I knew that she probably cared more about me than my own parents.

"Yes, but today!" she protested. "It was as if we had never stopped talking." My temper flared.

"Do you want me to go or what?" I snapped at her, standing up. She looked up at me and our eyes met. She shook her head slowly, her eyes not leaving my face. I sat down again and sunk low in the cushions, nodding off to sleep after what had already been a long day.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

It had been almost a week since I first started staying at Noelle's house. Besides my foot hurting when I put too much pressure on it and my knuckles being badly bruised, I was fine. Noelle and I had really gotten close. We did almost everything together, including our summer homework.

I lay on the bed in the Kellers' guest bedroom. Not tired at all, I stared up at the ceiling. The week had been somewhat eventful. I had received an anonymous letter by owl that had only four words written on it.

_Do the right thing._

I was almost positive it was from Sirius, even though it didn't even look like his handwriting. I would have to ask him when we got back to Hogwarts. Unless he was giving up his dreams of being an auror, he was definitely going to be at school for his seventh and final year.

I had closed my eyes, finally feeling tired, when I heard a loud clanking from above me. My eyes flew open and I turned my bedside lamp on, but there was nothing there. I convinced myself that I was just dreaming and turned off the lamp, but the noise came back.

I slipped out of bed and out the door, quietly going to Noelle's bedroom. I knocked softly, but when I heard no answer, I opened the door. She was sound asleep. I didn't want to wake her, but the clanking noise came back, and I prodded her awake with my finger.

She gave me another glare like the one I saw at St. Mungo's and whined a "What?" before sitting up.

"There's a noise," I told her. She smirked.

"Scared?" she asked. I rolled my eyes.

"You wish. I was wondering if you knew what it was." It was silent for a moment until the sound happened again. She yawned loudly before answering.

"A ghoul found its way into the attic. Daddy's contacting the Ministry about it tomorrow," she said. I paused. A ghoul couldn't be that bad… There was a loud bang from overhead and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Noelle laughed loudly as there were sounds of feet running up the stairs, undoubtedly her parents wondering what the ghoul had broken.

Noelle rolled over to the other side of the bed. "Get in," she sighed in a muffled voice. I pulled back the covers and lay down on the edge of the bed, facing away from her. Noelle stretched expansively, nearly hitting me in the face with her arm, and settled down, not acting the least but embarrassed, which was an improvement since she usually blushed at almost anything.

Her mother opened Noelle's bedroom door and stuck her head in. "Ell, we found—oh!" She saw me on the edge of the bed. "Noelle, what's Regulus doing in here?"

"He was scared," Noelle said in a loud and drowsy voice.

"Was _not_!" I yelled, turning to see her grinning at me.

"You certainly seemed like it," she muttered. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, uhm…" her mother was lost for words. "Good night…?" The door closed and I turned to Noelle who was yawning again. I gave her a playful punch in the arm.

"What was that for?" I asked. She shrugged, apparently trying to go back to sleep. "Noelle… what was that for?"

"For beating me at chess."

I snorted and closed my eyes, trying my best to fall asleep when the noises made by ghoul continued.

The next morning I woke up to find Noelle and myself uncomfortably close in the bed. As quietly as I could, I got out of her bed and went back to my own bedroom, vowing never to admit that happened. I had a shower and got dressed before going down to the kitchen for breakfast, Noelle meeting me a few minutes later.

"I had the funniest dream last night…" was the first thing she said when she saw me.

I just shrugged and offered her some toast.

**Author's Note: Yes, I know, more fluff. This is the last chapter of it, though! The next chapter will start to get into the story! I know I didn't update in a while, but I've been busy getting ready to go back to school and going places and stuff, so I've barely been able to sit down! There's two chapters for ya in compensation. **

**Read 'n Review, please!**

**~Salty**


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4

About three weeks before the start of term, Noelle and I received our Hogwarts letters. I already had most of my books, having inherited them from Sirius, but, since I blew up my Herbology book and my dress robes were four inches too short, I desperately needed to go to Diagon Alley. Noelle had none of her books, so she needed to go, too.

After insisting that we were old enough to go alone, we arrived at the Leaky Cauldron via floo powder. We got money from Gringotts and headed to our first stop, Flourish and Blotts. I got my Herbology book and Noelle got all of her books, which was quite a few, as she also wanted new reading material as well as textbooks. We were on our way to Madame Malkin's to get new dress robes for me and a new uniform for Noelle, when I felt a strong hand on the back of my neck.

Noelle and I were pushed into an alley. Noelle's arms were held by two men whose faces I couldn't see while another man shoved me against the wall, his wand digging into neck. "Did you do it?" he yelled at me. I froze. I recognized that voice. "Did you do it!?" he yelled again when I didn't answer.

"W-What?" I spluttered, not sure what he meant.

"Pull up your sleeve!" he barked at me. I started to push my right sleeve up. "Left sleeve, dumb ass!" Then I knew. "I swear to God I'll kill you if you did it…"

"Sirius?" I choked. With a growl, he pushed my left sleeve up roughly and looked down at the flawless skin on my forearm. He was lost for words.

"I-I thought for sure… this summer… Mum and Dad said…" He stepped back from me, dropping his wand to his side and still staring at my left arm.

"He's been with me all summer," Noelle said defiantly, still struggling against who must've been Remus and James. Sirius turned, glaring down at her before motioning to let her go. All three ran back out of the alley.

"Wait!" I yelled, running after them. "Sirius, wait!" I reached the end of the alley, but my brother was no where to be seen. Noelle caught up with me, carrying our books. She put a comforting hand on my shoulder, but I shook it off, sulking all the way to Madame Malkin's.

I wasn't the same for the rest of the summer. I couldn't believe that Sirius just left me like that again. He knew I was going to be turned into a Death Eater, but he didn't do anything to help me.

I spent most of my time in the guest bedroom sulking. Noelle tried to cheer me up, but her attempts were unsuccessful. I knew I was making her parents talk, I knew I was making Noelle cry, (her eyes were red whenever she came into my room) and wonder why I had changed so suddenly, but I couldn't help it.

I needed to be alone to sort out my thoughts and I was reminded why I spent most of my first four years at Hogwarts alone: It was much easier; less drama, less heartbreak, and more time to think. Admittedly, it would be lonely, now that I had had a taste of what I was missing, but I knew I had to go back to how I was.

Before we got on the Hogwarts Express, I broke the news to Noelle. I told her that I didn't want to hurt her and that was why I was isolating myself. To say the least, she didn't take it as well as I had planned.

I was getting ready for a very lonely train trip, when Sirius walked into my compartment. I didn't even want to look at him.

"There's a young lady in our compartment with a fantastic hex and tear-jerking story about how a certain Regulus Black broke her heart," he said, sitting down across from me. I grunted in response.

"She said you didn't want to hurt her, but you felt as if you needed to go away. She also said that she'd hex me if I didn't come to talk to you, but that's besides the point." He forcefully turned my head away from the window to face him. "Why'd you do it, Reg?"

"Do what?" I grumbled, trying to turn my head away, but he grabbed it again and forced me to look at him again.

"She's nice, pretty, smart, and everything that a guy could want…the only reason I haven't taken her is because I'm scared to death of that hex of hers and her heart seems set on you." I managed a small smile. Sirius stood up. "So, why don't you leave the heartbreaking to me, little bro. and I'll send that charming young lady back in here so you can apologize before she tests her hex out on Moony?" I nodded.

"Hey, Sirius," I said before he walked out the door. He looked back at me. "Thanks," I said.

He grinned. "Anything for my little brother." I rolled my eyes because I knew he would go back to calling me "jack ass" as soon as Noelle's wand wasn't pointed at him.

A few minutes later, Noelle ran into my compartment. "Did he talk to you?" she asked warily. I sighed and nodded. Noelle threw her arms around me and gave me a peck on the cheek. I turned to her.

"We're going back to school," I reminded her, "and not many people accept inter-house relationships."

"We're in a relationship?" Noelle asked in surprise.

"Uhm, well…I mean…" I stammered, trying to correct what said. "I meant, if you want to be in a relationship, not that many people accept—,"

With a loud bang, my cousin Narcissa slammed the compartment door open. "Who's this?" she snapped eyeing Noelle.

"I'm his girlfriend," she told her, glaring at Narcissa. I felt a warmth in the pit of my stomach as she said the word "girlfriend."

Narcissa looked at her in disgusted surprise, but turned to me. "Bellatrix and Rodolphous want to talk to you," she said, "_alone_." She eyed my left arm cautiously. I rolled my eyes, pulling up my sleeve to reveal flawless skin once again.

"No, I haven't got it." I snapped at her that time. "I was over at her house all summer, didn't get the chance." Narcissa's eyes flashed.

"Well, you'll have to get it soon," she said coolly, "because Bellatrix, Rodolphous, and Lucius are all getting ready for a… well, never mind. Even Snape's joined the fun."

"Snape!" I yelled. "But he's half-blood!"

Narcissa shrugged. "What can I say? The Dark Lord found favor with him. Something about his experience in the Dark Arts, I'm sure." I stood up to face my cousin.

"Which compartment are they in?" I demanded.

"The one right down the hall. You'll have to look out for Potter, though…he might just get suspicious. You know, future Order member…" I ran out of the compartment, Narcissa hot on my heels, leaving Noelle utterly confused in the now empty compartment.

**Author's Note: And the plot thickens! This is a somewhat longer chapter; there will be quite a few smaller ones, but a lot more of them in compensation. Review and tell me what you think!**

**~Salty**


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

Noelle didn't say anything about me leaving her in the compartment until the next morning at breakfast. She sat next to me at the Slytherin table, Bellatrix on her other side looking at her menacingly.

"Uh, can we go somewhere else?" she whispered in my ear, looking around at my group of friends.

"Come on, these are my new friends! They'll all like you, I promise," I whispered right back. She didn't look convinced. Lucius Malfoy was showing off his Dark Mark to Narcissa and anyone around him. He smirked at Noelle who looked outraged.

"See this?" he said to her, rolling up his sleeve more. "This is a Dark Mark. That means that I could ask the Dark Lord to wipe out every single member of your filthy family if I wanted to." Noelle looked up at me with terrified eyes.

"She's Pureblood!" I defended her, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"She's a blood-traitor, so she's as good as a Mudblood to me," Bella snarled. I felt Noelle shudder next to me, but I made no move to change seats.

"Can we go somewhere else?" She whispered to me. I ignored her.

"So, Reg! When are you gonna get it?" Rodolphous asked me. I sighed I had already told him…

"Over the Winter holiday," I reminded him. He grinned and leaned over to clap me on the shoulder.

"Good man, good man. Better than your brother anyway…" I stiffened. "Bloody coward ran away, I heard. It that true?" I nodded and the others laughed.

"Well, as soon as you get it, your brother's failures won't really matter, will they?" Bellatrix assuaged me. I nodded again.

"Regulus, what will you get?" I didn't answer Noelle's urgent whisper. "Regulus…" She stood up suddenly, she looked angry. "I'd like to talk to you, Regulus," she said shortly. A few of my friends sniggered and I smirked at them as I followed Noelle out of the Great Hall.

She turned to face me. "What exactly are you getting over Winter break?" she demanded.

"Nothing…" I said, not meeting her eyes.

"Regulus, you can tell me! You can trust me!" I laughed a bit and shook my head.

"Just a family heirloom of sorts. Besides, if I told you, you'd kill me." Noelle frowned at me, opening her mouth to say something but then realizing I wouldn't crack.

"You know I won't stop asking you until you tell me," she sighed in defeat. I laughed and hugged her.

"And you know I wont stop giving you bull shit answers," I said. Her laughter was muffled against my chest. She pulled away and looked up at me. I leaned down and kissed her softly. I wanted it to last forever, but the bell rang, and we had to get to our classes.

I smiled at her retreating figure, wondering how long it would be before she found out the truth…

The next four and a half months were amazing. Since our O. were that year, we spent most of our time in the library together, mostly working, but every now and then exchanging a gentle kiss between study packets.

Everything was going well. Every time I looked at her by my side, I felt like something just clicked—like she was meant to be there. I knew she felt the same every time our grey eyes met. She would look at me with a sort of kindness and admiration… before asking me what I was getting over holiday.

She was true to her word and I was true to mine. She asked me almost everyday, usually after a kiss or when I was in the middle of reading, hoping to catch me off guard. I gave her the same answer: a family heirloom that I couldn't tell her much about. I felt incredibly guilty about keeping suck a big secret from her, but if she knew, she would probably never look at me again, much less kiss me.

The day before we went on Winter break, I was out in the hallways very early in the morning, hoping to finish a project for Defense Against the Dark Arts in the library. As the library doors locked and my wand had been left on my bedside table, I walked reluctantly back to the Slytherin Common Room. I thought I heard someone behind me, but I didn't see anyone when I turned, so I went on.

Lucius Malfoy found me right as I was turning down the hallway to the Slytherin house.

"Oi! You there!" he yelled. I turned around to face him.

"It's just me, Lucius," I said calmly to him. He held up his wand to see my face but dropped it when he was sure it was me

"Well," he said, not letting me go just yet. Again, I felt as if we were being watched, but I shook off my thoughts. "When will you get the Dark Mark?" he asked coolly.

"Tomorrow, actually," I said. He smiled.

"Good. The Dark Lord wants us to recruit more members from Hogwarts. He's been waiting for you to join, since you'll be here longer than we will." I nodded; it made sense. "Hey, any chance of getting that girlfriend of yours to join, too?" My heart nearly stopped. Noelle? Join the Death Eaters?

"Well…" I muttered, my collar suddenly hot and uncomfortable. Lucius laughed.

"Let me guess, she doesn't even know you're joining the Death Eaters, right?" I reluctantly nodded. Lucius laughed more. "What are you going to do? Wear long sleeved robes all of your life?" He chuckled and moved down the corridor, leaving me to realize that I was certainly in a dilemma.

Once Lucius disappeared around another corner, someone stepped out from behind a suit of armor. I whipped around and waited until they stepped out of the shadows.

"Regulus?" I swore loudly. Standing before me, a horrified expression on her face, was Noelle Keller. She walked up to me as if in a dream, and touched my cheek lightly with her fingers. "A _Death Eater_?" she whispered. Then, she flung back her hand and slapped me as hard as she could across the face.

I knew I deserved it. When I blinked back the stars that were in my eyes, I found her glaring up at me. "I can't believe you…" she hissed menacingly. "I cannot even… _you disgust me_."

"Noelle!" I called to her as she walked away from me. "Please, Noelle! I didn't mean…I don't want…my family…" My calls faded away as she walked further and further down the hallway without looking back.

I tried to blink back the tears in my eyes as I made my way back to my dormitory. She hadn't left me like Sirius had; _I_ had _lost_ her…

**Author's Note: **

**One word:**

_**Classes**_

**Review please!**

**~Salty**


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6

I was reluctant to return to Hogwarts after such a short break. It meant I would have to face Noelle after what I had done only days before. My arm burned constantly after being branded with the Dark Mark-- it felt like pins and needles were stabbing into my arm at all times.

Not only was the pain excruciating, but the Dark Lord's demands were going to be hard to fill. He wanted fifteen new recruits from Hogwarts by the time school let out for the summer. It was going to be hard enough to talk about his plans without being turned in, let alone carry them out.

As I boarded the train back to Hogwarts, I could see Noelle talking to someone I couldn't quite see from the fog that covered the platform. She was smiling, laughing; no sign that I had ever known her… Narcissa noticed my distress when I walked into the compartment shared by fellow Death Eaters.

"Don't worry, Cousin," she told me. "I have someone _better_ for you; someone who will be _honored_ to serve a Death Eater such as yourself." I gulped. _Better_?

By that evening, I wanted nothing more than to be curled up alone at home. I tried talking to Noelle and she ignored me, I met that girl Narcissa told me about, and the looks Sirius gave me almost killed me in the hallways. The year was turning into a fiasco and I had no control.

I hid in the boys' dormitories trying to hide from Annette, the girl Narcissa introduced to me. She seemed nice (at least as nice as a Slytherin could be) at first, but she got a bit…possessive the more time I spent with her.

A dark skinned boy a year older than me named Lance Zabini walked in on where I was hiding in his dormitory. He raised an eyebrow at me. "And what might you be doing here?" he asked me.

"I…uhm…I was just hiding from…"

"Annette, yeah, I saw," he finished for me. "I can't believe you even thought about her, not to mention actually date her."

"It was—my cousin Narcissa—blind dating is sort of her specialty, you see," I tried to explain. He frowned.

"What happened to that other girl? The pretty Ravenclaw?" I stared down at my feet.

"I lost her. She found out I'm a Death Eater…"

"You mean she's free?" he asked excitedly, not even batting an eyelash at the fact that I was a Death Eater. I nodded reluctantly. He clapped me on the shoulder. "Black, you just made my day! I have to go find her…"

I groaned and collapsed on the bed closest to me, not caring whose it was.

The next day, I skipped Transfiguration to try to catch Noelle after her Charms class. I wanted to apologize and I wanted her to listen, not that it was likely, but I figured it was worth a shot.

So, that afternoon, I waited outside the Charms classroom for the bell to ring. As soon as it did, students came poring out from each of the classrooms in the hallway.

I caught Noelle by the wrist and pulled her back to me as she tried to fight her way past. "Noelle," I said trying to stop her struggling.

"Let go of me, Black," she spat, whipping out her wand and pointing it at me. I released her wrist and she went stalking past me into the thinning crowd.

"I'm sorry!" I blurted out. Well, more like yelled it. "What else am I supposed to do!"

The whole hall had stopped and turned to look at me, and Noelle was no exception. She looked like she was about to cry as she glared at me from across the hall, then:

"_THINK! _Regulus!" she screamed at me. "I _know_ it's a new concept for you, but why don't you put that so-called '_brilliant_' mind to work for once!" She smiled at me in a somewhat mad way before storming away to her next class.

I stood in the hallway stunned for a moment, no one really moving, besides someone who came up behind me and clapped me on the shoulder.

"Tough luck, mate," Lance Zabini said, "but, if you would excuse me, I have to go and comfort her." He walked away, a certain spring in his step.

I really felt like dying.

**Author's Note: Two chapters because I don't know if I'll be able to update this week. I think these weren't my best, but the message still comes through. **

**Just really quick: some may call these chapters "un-called-for," but I really think that they do help the story progress. What would you do if you found out that your boyfriend/girlfriend had joined a group like the Death Eaters?**

**With that, I invite you to review this story and tell me what you think!**

**~Salty**


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